The Information

Facebook could be looking at letting its users make in-store purchases via its Facebook Messenger chat app, according to The Information. “Tucked inside the code for Facebook’s Messenger are clues for how the chat app plans to become a marketplace, including an unreleased feature that lets people use the app to buy things in stores,” the publication says.

Google is testing a service called Plaso “that allows people carrying Android phones to pay at retailers like Papa John’s and Panera Bread by saying their initials to employees at the cash register,” The Information reports, citing “four people who have been involved in or briefed about it.” The pilot has been live since “last fall”.

Apple Pay saw more than one million card activations within 72 hours of launch and is already the leading NFC payments player in the US, Apple CEO Tim Cook has revealed during the Wall Street Journal’s WSJDLive event. Cook also outlined future growth plans for the service, including a potential partnership with Chinese ecommerce giant Alibaba. More

Visa has unveiled a suite of services designed to “facilitate secure payments across a broad range of internet-connected devices and wearables”. The announcement of the new Visa Digital Solutions service comes amid reports that Apple… More

What is NFC World?

We report on the emerging technologies that are transforming how consumers choose what to buy, who to buy from, and how to pay. Find out more